From time to time, questions pop up where the asker is having trouble locating a product they like. For the most part, it seems like they want the community to help them shop. Since these questions are usually very localized; and usually closed, should we add something to the faq to discourage these types of questions?

The first question got an answer offering what the OP asked for as well as several alternatives. The second one, while it looks like a shopping question, is really asking how to dig a tunnel under a paved path and could be edited into that form, making it an unambiguously on-topic question.

Author of the ignominious NM cable clamp question here. The key info communicated by answers to that question isn't actually "where to buy" but "what to buy": 3/4-in fits 1/2-in knockout; you can search for 1/2-in till blue in the face and find nothing, which I did, hence the frustrated "where are they hiding these?" question. Some liberal editing on both my part and the respondents' would hopefully make that clear.
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Jeremy W. ShermanJul 27 '12 at 23:41

Since I've seen a lot of push back when enforcing this policy, here's my rule of thumb (so I don't have to repeat it every time someone questions the policy):

If the OP would consider their question answered by a link to a product, then it's likely shopping advice and I'll close it.

If the question is about what type of tools and materials would solve a problem, then I would consider it on topic. If someone needs a "thingamajig" and just didn't know that's what they were called, or that "thingamajigs" are made for their problem, then it's on topic. If someone wants to know who makes a particular "thingamajig" and where they can find one, that's off topic. If you need a "thingamajig" that has some specific capabilities that you can't find anywhere, then it's off topic.

Common complaints on this policy include "there are old questions that are shopping questions" and "there are answers that include product links". For old questions, we don't retroactively enforce these policies. So a lot of questions were asked while the site was still determining what our scope was and would no longer be on topic if asked today. And for answers, if the product link is supporting the rest of the answer, and not an explicit product recommendation (spam), then that's allowed. My line is drawn not when answers include a product, but when questions are asking for a product.

I also frequently get asked to consider reopening a question after the OP rewords their question to not directly ask for a product, but where a link to a product would still be the best answer for them. Removing details and rephrasing things to avoid asking your actual question are the exact opposite purposes of the edit link, and so I typically ignore those requests. Very rarely do I reopen a "shop for me" question after it's been edited, since unlike ambiguous questions where added detail can save a question, or overly localized questions where they can be rephrased to apply to a greater audience, shopping questions can't be edited to be a better shopping question that would then be on topic.

As an aside, any time a question is off topic for the Q&A site, you can consider coming over to the chat room and asking in there. It's lightly used and a response may be slow, but the off topic rules don't apply there.
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BMitch♦May 27 '14 at 19:39

I'm a bit more tolerant. Certain items are hard to find, or only available from a specialty retailer who supplies a completely different trade than one would expect. It's not so much a shopping question as a plea for help.

my criteria is more along the lines of "If the guy in the blue or orange shirt can answer by pointing, it's off topic". But, if the item is unusual or hard to find, such that you would ask a contractor where he gets it, then it's not shopping, it's materials supply management.